• Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives - With two stable years of ACCESS for ELLs data following the second administration of ACCESS for ELLs in the spring of 2013, MDE along with stakeholders will review the ACCESS data to reset AMAO targets, as needed, with support from H. Gary Cook from the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) Consortium. Initial meetings are anticipated to take place the week of August 12th, 2013.

• English Language Arts Multi-Tiered Systems of Support Toolkit – Vicki Weinberg discussed the ELA MTSS Toolkit which is in development to ensure that ALL students are successful with the new ELA standards. Input specific to ELs will be sought as the toolkit is developed.

• EL Coordinators Meeting – ELSIG members will provide a brief presentation at the EL Coordinators meeting on May 2 and invite others to apply for the 2013-2014 school year. Ursula will provide a brief presentation on dual language programs in Minnesota and location of National Standards for Language learning and resources.

2. EL Identification and Program Basics

The EL Education Program Guidelines: Identification and Program Basics was last updated in August of 2011. Recommendations for revisions include:

• Updating assessments.

• More consistency across the document regarding relative to definitions and terms.

• Clarifying MARSS classification processes.

• Adding state and federal legislation.

• Clarifying refusal of service and testing relative to identification, programming requirements, and MARSS classification.

3. WIDA Webcasts

We are working with WIDA to develop webcasts which are self-paced online courses that include:

• Overview of the English Language Development (ELD) Standards

• Overview of Academic Language (AL)

• AL of ELA

• AL of Math

• AL of Science

• AL of Social Studies

4. Project Discussion Groups

Attendees chose one of the four topics below to provide input.

• Family Engagement Resources – Input was gathered for the Family Engagement document including resources for EL family engagement.

• EL Newsletter and Website Resources – The content of the EL Coordinator Newsletter was discussed as well as the MDE website pages for EL Education. Recommendations include: connecting the different pages together for more cohesion, highlighting some links that are buried (e.g. Special Education EL resources), adding links to additional related websites; providing a web map/overview at the EL Coordinators meeting.

• Proficiency Criteria – Input was gathered regarding development of Frequently Asked Questions about EL proficiency criteria as well as updates to MDE’s guidance chapter on EL Programming Basics. Drafts are forthcoming.

• Quality Indicators -- Reviewed the structure and made recommendations for the formatting for easier collection of data.

Featured News

STEM Forum and Expo, May 20-23!

National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) is hosting their national STEM forum in Minnesota in May. This unique, STEM-focused event is where educators gather to share tools and resources for implementing STEM education into schools and communities. What makes this event so different? The people presenting! One of whom is our own Doug Paulson, agency STEM Specialist. Visit NSTA site to learn more.